blue gill growth rate

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kakojones

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 29, 2006
242
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Florida
My friend and I caught a bunch of blue gill to put in the pond at his house the other day and a couple of them were around 1", could I possibly keep one of these in my 29 for a year or do they grow too quickly for that?

There really isn't much in there right now just three platies and an apple snail and I need to put more in there. I would rather have a native or two than go buy something boring. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a 125 in the house so I can do something really cool.

I kept a blue gill in there for a month or so a while ago, but he went to the pond after that. I just wanted to watch him for a bit as he didn't seem to be eating as much as his pond mates. I fattened him up pretty well and he's still in there doing well.
 
kakojones;702489; said:
My friend and I caught a bunch of blue gill to put in the pond at his house the other day and a couple of them were around 1", could I possibly keep one of these in my 29 for a year or do they grow too quickly for that?

There really isn't much in there right now just three platies and an apple snail and I need to put more in there. I would rather have a native or two than go buy something boring. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a 125 in the house so I can do something really cool.

I kept a blue gill in there for a month or so a while ago, but he went to the pond after that. I just wanted to watch him for a bit as he didn't seem to be eating as much as his pond mates. I fattened him up pretty well and he's still in there doing well.
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I wouldn't se a problem with it as long as the water levels are monitored for the fish's health. Bluegill are hearty fish and can usually adapt to environment changes pretty quickly. But they do grow fast with a varied diet in aquaria. As I kid I would keep the occasional bluegill or small catfish in a 30 gallon. And it would survive the 30+ minute ride home in a bucket of water looped over the handlebar on my bicycle :) .

I would suggest an alternative though. Bluegill are nice looking fish, but how about getting yourself a red belly sunfish or red ear sunfish. I would bet they are plentiful in Florida and very pretty with red, blue, green and reflective white colors. And they can be caught at about 3 inches and do not grow as fast or as large as the bluegill. Good luck!
 
Yea they don't grow extremely fast and I wouldn't really see a problem with keeping one in a 29 for a year but no more really. Mine are all around 4-5" after about 6 months and I caught them all at or under an 1"

Chad
 
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